Misplaced Desires
by ExpensiveImitation
Summary: Set during the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan's padawan adventures with him, Anakin and Ahsoka. Over time she turns to doubting everything, thinking too much about small situations. She walks the thin line between the light side and the dark side. Will she remain a jedi? or turn sith?
1. Caught In A Trap

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, or the Star Wars Universe. The characters used do not belong to me, except those I have thought up myself.

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I could clearly remember the day I was promoted from 'youngling' to 'padawan'. I was so excited for that moment, most deemed me to be too young for the role, but Master Yoda and Master Windu thought otherwise.

I remember part of my hair being braided, then the rest cut shorter than I had it previously, reaching down past my buttocks. I missed my hair being that length, but I remember how proud I felt to have the padawan braid. Maybe I could grow my hair back to that length when I pass my training?

A hard blow to my right cheek brought me out of my thoughts, my head whipped to the side.

"Tell me what I want to know!" Said the deep gravelly voice of the man who seemed to be trying to interrogate me.

I was in a small room, sealed off from a larger corridor. Tied to a chair. He'd tried using the force to get the information from me, as a Jedi, it didn't work on me. So it seemed, he had resorted to violence.

I didn't respond, I was not going to give in, not because of a little bit of violence. I had been taught much better than this. Additionally, I knew that help would arrive at any moment. I hoped.

After several more moments of trying to beat the answer out of me, the man seemed to leave the room. Locking me in. I studied him as he walked away, his yellow and black skin, and the horns atop his head reminded me of someone I had been taught about during training. Maybe this was the one and only Savage Oppress.

I waited, and I waited, for what seemed like a millennium. I decided to try and take matters into my own hands. Using my strength to easily breaking my bindings. I worked quickly on those binding my ankles too, they came away just as easily.

Standing up, I heard every joint in my body crack, from prolonged sitting. I looked around, surveyed my area and quickly decided that there would be no way out for me.

Sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, I shut my eyes, effectively shutting out the world which I did not wish to focus upon.

Down the hallway, eight rooms down, I could hear some sort of meeting. Speaking of 'the filthy jedi', which was obviously myself. I could hear my mater calling out through my transmitter, which had been taken from me upon my capture. This only infuriated the group of sith more, while it gave me hope that they were coming.

The sound of metal upon metal caught my attention, it was in the other direction of what I had previously been listening to. Three pairs of feet gently hit the floor below the original noise. I was a little confused until I heard my master's hushed whispers.

Leaping to my feet, as quiet as possible, I rushed over to the force field sealing me in.

"Master Kenobi." I said, in the most toned down level I dared, I stayed alert monitoring what was happening down the hall from where I was.

"Alpa-Ven, is there any way for you to get out?" My master asked once he had stopped in front of my cell, I shook my head and informed him of the group down the hall.

"They open the doors with a sensor imbedded in the skin of their wrists, Master." Looking at him and his two companions, his former padawan Anakin, and his own padawan Ahsoka. I suddenly had a plan.

"I'll make a noise in here, they'll send someone out to check on me, then you knock them out. Then you can use their arm to get me out?"

"Well Obi-Wan, you have a very smart padawan." Anakin stated, to which Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him, taking it as a dig at her.

The plan went just the way we thought it would have. And, somehow the siths down the hall were none the wiser. As we hurried as quietly as we could away from the room, I thanked them all for coming to get me.

"Where's your lightsaber, Alpa-Ven?" Asked Obi-Wan, with a look of disapproval, he had always told me that my lightsabre is my life and that I should never lose it no matter what.

"I was stripped of it; I dare say Count Dooku has it." I answered in the polite way I was taught; I was told of how Anakin would be very defiant to the word of Master Kenobi.

With a sigh he nodded his head.

"We're going to have to try and get it then aren't we?" This earned a small chuckle from Anakin.

As we turned the corner, we were confronted to a wide open space of a sort of office type room. But it was crammed full of droids and clones.

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Hi everyone, I hope you liked the first part of my story, this is my first fanfic so I would appreciate **any** feedback!

Also, I know that it is not canon for Obi-Wan to have another Padawan at this point, but I think that it fits rather well for what I have in mind for the rest of the story. Thank you for reading! :)


	2. First Glimpse

I'm working on updating this quite quickly, so I can get into the story a lot quicker. Sorry this chapter is only one sort of scene, but I felt this was a good place to end the chapter.

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For a moment I panicked, I didn't have my lightsaber, what could I do against all of these enemies? Then I remembered, jedis have other powers, not just their duelling skill. I would be fine, droids and clones were easy to destroy, I had done this so many times. But that did not stop the feeling to terror tingling down my spine.

To my left, Anankin's fair haired framed face was set in determination as he pulled his lightaber out and turned it on. A streak of blue emerged from the tip. In my eye line, I saw a green streak appear, Ahsoka had drawn her own lightsaber.

"You must stay back Alpa-Ven." Were the stern words from my master. I could tell he meant it, I didn't want to argue, so I nodded. But I knew I would venture forth when the fighting had begun.

And that is what I did. My master, master Anakin and Ahsoka ran forward, I watched as the droids moved forwards to face them. Although I did hand back further from the other three, I did move forward. Channelling the force into my hands, I moved objects through the air, throwing them into the oncoming droids.

The noises were very loud, as lightsaber made contact with the metallic bodies, then cut through. All around me, it was becoming overwhelming. If I had my own weapon, I could have easily averted my mind into technique and overpowering the enemy. There was nothing I could do except throw objects at the enemy.

Every so often I would have to duck or roll out of the way shots aimed at me, I really was beginning to feel helpless now. I was almost certain the siths from before must have been on their way to this room now, they must have heard the commotion, I was surprised they were not here yet already.

I managed to catch the moment when a shot grazed Ahsoka's skin, her orange tinted skin suddenly becoming red in a bold line across her arm in blood. Luckily enough, it was not her arm which she used to wield her lightsaber.

Suddenly, I was knocked back, with such force that I was physically thrown through the air and onto the floor. It must have been a sith, using their force to knock me back.

I was wrong. My right shoulder was now soaked with blood, quickly trickling onto the floor. I had been shot, this had never happened to me before. I usually was so focused on what was happening in front of me, that my mind would never wander, so I would often be able to evade things like this. The pain was excruciating, but I knew I had to get up.

My shoulder felt pinned to the floor, but I managed to heave myself up onto my knees.

I saw a group storm in from the side of the room opposite from me, they all had weapons. They weren't droids, they weren't clones, it was the sith. What could I do now?

Using whatever means necessary I moved closer and closer to my master, my shoulder slowing me down. I managed to defeat some droids on my way, I wasn't totally helpless.

Master Anakin had taken on battling the siths who had entered the room, as Ahsoka and Obi-Wan concentrated on the left over droids and clones. I watched as he battled. He duelled with such grace, almost like a dancer. It had always been known that he was excellent at duelling, many often claimed he was better than Master Kenobi, who was renowned for his lightsaber skill.

No. I had to stop letting my mind wander, this was not the place for it. This place was an absolute mess, droids massacred laying in pieces on the ground. Pairs duelling, and jumping around the whole place.

The only thing I could think of to do, was take shelter behind a fallen droid. Peaking over the top and using the force to grip enemies in place, meaning it was easier for my fellows to beat them. This was the only assistance I would offer, as I still had no lightsaber.

I continued doing this for a moment, slowing down the men clad in red and black for my masters to be able to overpower. When something caught my eye and I turned to the side. I lost my grip on the enemy.

A black blur was all that met me, what on Earth was it?

When I turned back, I noticed one of the black clad figures was looking straight at me. I was knocked back again, so far I felt my whole body hit the wall, my head smacking back against it. I slumped to the floor.

I had barely opened my eyes, which had closed because of the blunt force to the back of my head, when I saw the assailant making a beeline towards me. When he got within a metre from my still prone body, for some reason I couldn't move, he raised his lightsaber, a red flash through the air. I closed my eyes against the oncoming blow. Except, it never came.

Looking up, bewildered, the one who was going to kill me was now on the floor. Lifeless, covered in his own blood. One of the others must have finished him off before he could get to me.

But it was not someone I knew who was stood in front of me, lightsaber raised, effectively like a human shield. His back was to me, but I could see that he was glancing at me over his shoulder. His pale skin was a stark contrast against the black material of his hooded cloak, his eyes were blazing red, staring at me. He was no jedi, that was for sure.

But why would he do this? Attack one of his own, to defend a jedi? Maybe he wanted to finish me off himself?

Just as panic began to set in, he leapt away from me and disappeared. His fellow siths following suit. Leaving me, master Kenobi, master Anakin and Ahsoka in the room full of motionless droids and dead clones.

They all looked back at me, then rushed over to aid me. It was time to leave, we could not stay here. It did not matter that my lightsaber was still here, we just needed to get out. Even though Obi-Wan had always stressed the importance of a lightsaber, to me it didn't matter, I could make another one back at the temple. We just needed to leave.

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Again, thank you for reading! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Either leave a review or you can send me a message, thank you!


	3. Passing Time

Without my lightsaber, I was not able to go on any more assignments. I was kind of happy about that, I didn't want to go out. I was wallowing, for no particular reason.

Spending so much time in the padawan dormitories, I was able to do a lot of reading. Which I liked a lot, and never really got the chance to do a lot of. I put off making my new lightsaber as much as I could, to Obi-Wan's distaste.

I'd picked up a basic book on the Pantorans, which was my race. Oddly, I didn't know a lot about my race of people. I'd been brought up by the jedis, after I was found, my family and tribe I lived in was slaughtered by the separatists. I couldn't be as sad as I should be, I couldn't remember, and Obi-Wan always warned me of the dangers of negative thinking.

I read about how, depending on your family, many Pantorans would paint patterns in yellow upon their blue skin. I had never done this, nor had I been taught to, probably because the jedis who took me in did not know the pattern my own family used. So my skin was always just blue, it didn't bother me, I liked it.

I remember, in my travels with the jedi, I would often see other people of my kind, they were easy to spot with blue skin and often had shades of hair between pink and purple. I always thought to myself whether they would have known my family, or at least the tribe I was part of. But, even I didn't know that. I just knew my family had been mercilessly slaughtered by the separatists. Which is why I often felt a strong feeling of revenge against them, sometimes I thought I would do anything to get payback for what they did. When I voiced these thoughts to Obi-Wan, he reminded me the effects of negative feelings and how it often led to the dark side.

Continuing to flip through the book, I read upon the customs of my people. Customs I would never partake in.

Several hours of reading went by, Master Kenobi had searched for me and commanded I make my new lightsaber now. He didn't want me putting it off any longer. With a sigh I headed off to go make it, begrudgingly.

I chose the same colour as before, blue, big surprise. But even with this task, I was slow, my mind kept wandering. It had been weeks ago, but I was still puzzled about the man who saved me, then disappeared. I didn't understand, why would any sith do that for a jedi? Given their reputation you definitely would not expect any individual to have done that. Maybe not all of them are as bad as they seem?

I banished the thought with a shake of my head, my lilac coloured hair dancing around my face. I couldn't believe I was having these thoughts. Becoming a little disgusted with myself I rubbed my temples with my fingertips.

"Hey! How's the new lightsaber coming along?" Came the deep voice from behind me, making me jump. I turned to look at who it was. Anakin.

"Uh, fine actually, thank you. Is there anything I can help you with?" I sat up straight, you always had to act properly in front of a master.

He shook his head with a fond smile, he sat across from me, the bench with my nearly assembled lightsaber between us.

"Just wanted to see how you are."

"What do you mean Master?" I had no idea what he meant by that.

"Well, all of us are a bit worried. We can tell you haven't been yourself, since you were held captive." All I could do in response was frown a little. "Did they do anything bad to you?"

I thought about it for a moment, my mind had been so wrapped up in other things, that I had almost forgotten my time in captivity.

"They hit me a bit, choked me with force grip. But nothing I couldn't handle, clearly." I laughed gently, trying to pass off as if I were completely fine. I noticed how Anakin's hand suddenly tightened into a fist, the knuckles turning white.

"I. Hate. The. Sith. Scum." He said with so much venom, I thought that if he had bitten he would poison me. There were times in which I would notice how Anakin became almost enraged, it wasn't a safe thought path for a jedi, but I could understand where his feelings came from and I felt the same.

"Don't we all?" I responded light-heartedly, trying to dispel his mood. "Anyway, don't act like I'm the only one in a mood." I said, a little more confident than I usually would be when talking to a master. But, I felt like Anakin and myself felt the same about a lot of issues, not that we ever spoke about it. "Is it being away from Senator Amidala?" I smiled, he frowned.

"What do you mean? What does Padmé have to do with this?" He said, a little offended.

"You may be able to trick some people Anakin Skywalker, but I can see right through the both of you. I see the way you look at her, the way you both conveniently leave rooms around the same time. You miss her." I saw momentary shock in his eyes. I knew what he was thinking. If a padawan, who was not even his own padawan, could tell about him and Padmé, surely the others could?

"No, the others do not know. I just must be more observant than they are. Or, maybe the fact I admire you so much, I notice these things?" He breathed a sigh of relief at my words.

"Yes, I do miss her. I would do anything to be with her right now."

"I'm sorry that you can't be with her right now. It must be hard having to hide the fact that you love each other from everyone." I made a sympathetic shrug. He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Enough about that. I just came here to double check you're okay? Obi-Wan knows you're less likely to confide in him. You seemed spaced out after we escaped, like you're always deep in thought." He made the statement, not really asking a question of me, it seemed they could tell I was acting differently, even though I didn't know why I was acting differently.

"Master Anakin, I am fine. But thank you, for your concern." I smiled gently.

"Just remember, there are always people here to talk to." He remarked as he stood up and made his way out of the room.

The silence closed in quickly and felt very eerie, like it wanted to suffocate me.

I was awoken but someone suddenly shaking me. Great this is just what I needed this early in the morning. My eyelids cracked open and I saw Obi-Wan looming above me.

"Good, you're awake." He said, as if he hadn't just woke me up. "You know I wouldn't come to you like this, this early in the morning." I looked over to the window, the sun wasn't even in the sky yet. "But a few of us Jedi have been given the task of travelling to Alderaan, and we have been instructed to take our padawans."

I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes. "Okay Master, I shall get ready to leave."

"Make sure you look presentable; we will be in the presence of royalty. Not that you don't look presentable usually." He rushed to add. I must have pulled a face showing my distaste at his choice of words.

Once he had left, I stood up and got dressed into my jedi robes, which were a mix of black and red. I carefully placed them on my bed, which I had made just moments ago. I moved on to do my hair first, in my usual style, with two braids down one side of my head, the rest hung lose.

When I had finished getting changed, I made my way to Master Kenobi's quarters, where he had told me to wait for him. Knocking lightly on the door, I waited patiently until I heard a response through the door, telling me to come in.

"Today we will be meeting Queen Breha Organa, of Alderaan. And her husband, Prince Consort Bail Organa." He informed me, it was always good to know who I am to be dealing with. Although, I highly doubt that I will have any part in whatever was happening in Alderaan. It was most likely that the masters were instructed to take their padawans just to witness and learn from the event.

"Is there any customs I need to know of? In case I offend them?" I asked.

"No, you'll be fine." Obi-Wan chuckled gently and shook his head. He picked his lightsaber up, and hooked it into his belt. The same place my own was, I had finally finished it the night before.

He led me from the room, down many of the hallways which formed a sort of maze, to the aircraft hangar room. Where we joined many of our peers and boarded the airship, to take us to Alderaan.

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Anyway, thanks for reading! Any feedback is appreciated!


	4. The Search

The stars were a bright blur against the dark space as we zoomed past. This was normal. I knew some padawans who were unused to flying through space, and even hyperspace, so they were often uncomfortable while flying. Personally, I thought it was no different than being on solid ground.

Masters passed by with one another inside the ship, talking amongst themselves quietly. Seeming like they did not wish to discuss the issue with their padawans, so why even bring us? They spoke in hushed tones, with their heads bent, so maybe it was a more secretive matter? If it were a secret matter, I doubted I would ever find out.

On the whole, the atmosphere of the aircraft was very quiet. Orders and communication was often heard from the pilot and co-pilots' direction. Most of the other padawans were not talking to one another, and the ones who were, were speaking as quietly as their masters. I had nobody to talk to, as many padawans became friendly due to who their masters were often partnered up with for missions. Master Obi-Wan was most often paired with his former padawan, Anakin, so I was only really familiar with Ahsoka, both did not seem present on this task. That doesn't mean I couldn't talk to the others who were present, as I did know them and I had spoken to them from time to time, but they made no move to talk to me, so they probably wouldn't feel comfortable if I went over to speak to them.

Standing up I decided I would look around the aircraft, I noticed Obi-Wan watching me as I walked away with an intrigued look. I had no idea how long it would take for us to reach Alderaan, as I had never been there. But I decided to kill time by exploring, not that there was much to explore, and it was pretty much like most aircrafts we travelled in.

Calls in the distance announce that we had arrived some while later, I had been deep in the aircraft, looking from a window, thinking to myself. I hurried to the part of the ship I had been in for the majority of the journey.

Masters paired up with their padawans and began to make their way down the ramp onto the ground below.

"Remember Alpa-Ven, these people are royalty. Speak only when spoken to and be polite at all times. I have no doubt you will not follow these guidelines." Master Obi-Wan stated as we walked together down the ramp.

"Yes Master." I nodded.

Ambassadors met us on the ground, and guided us to the front of the palace. A few of the masters and the ambassadors exchanged pleasantries on the short trip from the aircraft to the palace. I had to say it was a beautiful building. It was the only palace I had ever seen, but it was fantastic. It was very large, easily one of the tallest buildings I had seen. I couldn't wait to see the inside.

Following along with the group, I admired the luxurious furnishing and decorations in the welcome hall and down the corridors. It was a lot different to the Jedi Temple, which was of modest decoration, whereas this was very elaborate.

Masters continued talking, and the most of the other padawans were doing the same as me, looking around.

We were all led into the throne room. On the bigger throne of the two, sat a dark haired woman, who I guessed to be Queen Breha Organa. Alongside her, in a slightly smaller throne, sat a man with dark hair and dark skin, who must have been her husband Bail Organa. They smiled at the group who entered the room.

The masters bowed their heads in unison, all padawans followed suit. It seemed that like myself, they had been given the talk about being polite and showing good manners.

"Your Majesty, it has come to the Jedi Council's attention that you have some important news to share with us? You requested a group of us to arrive in Alderaan?" Obi-Wan's voice rung out from the front of the group, beside me.

"That is correct, Master Kenobi." The Queen nodded her head, she looked at her husband and nodded at him. He stood up to address the Jedi. I watched as he paced backwards and forwards as he began to explain.

"With the wars going on, we are sure you are aware of the threat of the sith." He watched the group, individuals nodded so he continued. "But we have caught wind of a very powerful individual, some say even more powerful than Count Dooku. We have no identity on the individual at this moment in time. But we are aware that he is here, on Alderaan, in the capital city. Him and his group have been here for a short while, we weren't aware of it until a sudden wave of criminal activity in the area." He continued to pace back and forth, a frown plastered on his face.

I felt my eyebrows rise and my eyes widened. A sneaking suspicion made me think. It couldn't possibly be the sith who saved me from the attack before? I had a funny feeling it was him, I don't know why, I just did. I composed myself before anyone could notice I was shocked for a moment, straightening my spine and standing to attention, trying to focus on the point at hand.

"We called you here so we can make a plan of action, hopefully to capture this individual and his followers. He seems like an integral to the separatist movement. A powerful man to be part of the sith team." He stopped pacing, standing directly face on to the group of us jedi.

"So far, we have come up with you jedi knights scouting the area we have pinpointed him to, along with our forces. And then hopefully, you can smoke them out."

"That sounds like a good idea, we would all like to give any support possible to this issue. And thank you for alerting us of this situation, this is very important information for us at this time and we appreciate it very much." Obi-Wan was nodding as he delivered his reply.

"Shall we take this to the battle room?" Mr Organa motioned with his hands in the direction the room for discussing battle strategy was located.

"Sounds like a good idea, padawans wait here." Master Windu spoke above the group. I supposed he didn't want our amateur skills in the room, which made sense when dealing with such a sudden and serious issue.

Walking through the streets of the capital city a long while later, Obi-Wan filled me in of what was discussed in the battle room. What our role was, and what other people's roles were.

The immediate plan was, to take a mile square around the area which the Organa's had pinpointed them, and then slowly close in from all four sides. Once closer to the exact location, one pair from each of the four sides would go in deeper to scope out the area and hopefully storm the building they were in alerting the others to come and fight, one of these pairs were myself and Master Kenobi.

So, we walked down the streets, with the others following closely behind us. Master Obi-Wan ran me through the correct protocol. He always did this, I was sure I had heard this over a thousand times, every mission we went on he would give me the same teaching before action. I found it a little bit endearing, it showed he cared and worried a little bit.

We stopped around the mile square perimeter, the leader of each group speaking through a transmitter to the others, making sure everyone was synchronised and in the right position.

"And begin searching now." Was Mace Windu's voice through the transmitter, and we were off.

As we stealthily made our way through the closely compacted streets, we looked through all different windows and doorways, for any sign of the sith.

This went on for a while, showing no luck. The other groups often communicated "we think we may have them", and it always turned out to be a false alarm.

As we made our way closer to the centre of the square, we split off, the pairs from all four sides closing in, and the others staying behind. Obi-Wan and myself moved quietly on the streets, not saying a word until-

"Do you hear that?" I asked suddenly, in a very hushed voice. It sounded as if there were many people in one room, in the big building we happened to be nearing.

"Yes, we should check it out." Was his reply.

We quietly made our way into the building, it was submerged in almost complete darkness. We could hear people talking in the room beyond, talking of the separatists, going over plans. We listened for a few moments, then decided that these were the people we were looking for.

"We have found them. Lock on to our location, they're here." Said Obi-Wan into his transmitter, in a hurried yet quiet voice. I was looking around and realised there was an upper ground to this building, they could have people hiding up there. Anticipating an attack.

As if catching on to what I was thinking, Master Obi-Wan nodded at me and instructed me to go and look. There was no sound emerging from the upstairs, so it stood to reason there was nobody up there.

I made my way up the metal stairs, quietly and cautiously. It was even darker up here than it was downstairs. My hand hovered over my lightsaber at my hip, as if ready for an attack.

I reached the top of the stairs and began slowly moving down the corridor. There were two doorways opposite one another, I turned to one, getting ready to go inside and make sure nobody was in there.

Something grabbed my right arm and spun me to face the other way. I was pinned against the wall with a strong arm against my upper chest and neck. Getting ready to retaliate I went for my weapon, and looked up at the culprit.

My heart froze. It was him. I knew the person the Organa's wanted us to go after was him. And of course he had been upstairs.

I looked into his red eyes, the same red eyes that haunted me from the day he saved me. He could slay me where I stood now, it was that easy for him as I was pinned to the wall by him.

I was still shocked it was him, I was not ready to see him again. I had so many questions to ask him, to make sense of what had happened.

"What are you doing here?" A deep, gravelly voice met my ears.

I didn't know what to do…

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I apologise for the break in the chapter only being a few blank lines, for some reason the site wouldn't let me edit out my asterisks and kept getting rid of them from my document :/

Anyway! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading, and feedback is appreciated.


	5. Arrangement

Staring into blazing red eyes, I knew this was the end. I was staring into the eyes of Death itself. Eyes, which pierced straight into my soul, and could see right through me. They seemed to be figuring me out, as if it could see everything I had done in my past and anything in my future, they seemed that invasive.

"Female. Answer my question." The red eyes seemed to set me on fire and swallow me whole at the same time. I felt ensnared, like staring into the eyes of a serpent as it hypnotised you into a state of contentment while it slowly killed you.

"I won't ask you again." I saw a flash of red suddenly in my vision, a weapon. Everything was red, his eyes, his weapon.

"Looking for you… and your men." Was my weak, but honest, reply. I could have lied and made out it was a complete accident why we were here. He wouldn't buy that, and neither would anyone else.

"Seems like you succeeded." He pressed his arm further into my body, pinning me against the wall even more. My hand was still on my weapon, but if I acted now, it would alert the others downstairs who would then attack Master Obi-Wan. I wouldn't put him in that position. I would just have to try and talk my way out of this.

"Maybe because we're better than you would ever imagine."

"Is that so?" A hand clamped around my jaw and tilted my head from side to side, as if he was inspecting a rare creature.

"Yes. I am sure you recall our excellent skill in the aircraft hangar?" I asked, probing him. I knew we were overpowered at the time, but we would have fought through in the end.

His eyes widened a fraction for a moment, then a scowl was plastered on his face. He didn't think I remembered, that I couldn't have recognised him because he had been wearing a hood at the time.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Was his blunt response. He could try denying it all he liked, but I knew the truth.

"Why did you come to my defence? You had no reason to." I continued, barely acknowledging his lie. His brows shot up and he looked at me for a long moment.

"It does not matter why I did so, you should be grateful someone like myself. You wouldn't have been saved by someone else."

"You killed one of your own. Why would you do that, for someone who is most likely your enemy?" There was no, 'most likely' about it. He happened to be using the wrong side of the force, I could not follow that path.

"You wouldn't understand, youngling."

I hadn't been called youngling in a long time. I resented that name, it seemed so patronising, and ever since I was made a padawan the nickname has stopped being used. So to hear it again now was not pleasing.

"Don't call me that. Answer my question."

"Don't ask questions about things you would never understand and are not involved with."

"You involved me when you saved me. You can answer my questions. You owe me the explanation."

Feet reverberating on the metal steps caught our attention, both heads whipped to the side. The footsteps stopped halfway up the stairs, from what I could guess.

"Al?" Was my master's hushed voice from a distance away. "Are you okay? Is there anyone up there with you?" His feet started ascending the stairs again.

"Fine. If you want to know. Meet me under the cover of nightfall, back here, and I will answer your questions." He said in a hurry, he turned and as quick as lightning he dashed into one of the dark rooms. Effectively disappearing. I'm sure he probably jumped out of the window or something to go and hide properly.

Obi-Wan appeared at the top of the stairs, he seemed like he was worried. Worry was one of the many feelings Obi-Wan had warned me against, seemed sort of funny to me that he would be experiencing this. He always seemed so calm and collected.

"Sorry Master, there is nobody up here. I took so long because I was checking all of the rooms were not occupied." To this, Obi-Wan nodded and turned to descend the stairs.

"Still, we need to investigate the people in that room when the others get here, in case the sith is with them." I nodded and we made our way downstairs. I felt bad, leading them all on a chase for no reason, as I knew he had indeed been in here, but I didn't know what else to do. I followed him down the stairs. 

I lay in bed, in the accommodation so kindly given to us by the monarchs of Alderaan. Looking towards to the window, I feigned sleep, watching as the sun set. Darkness settled over the sky and the only light seemed to emanate from the moon, which was high up in the sky.

Millions of stars littered the dark night sky, it was beautiful. I couldn't often admire the night sky, but when I could, I always thought of it as beautiful.

I waited, a long time. Making sure that everyone around me, in adjoining rooms and generally nearby, could not hear me if I were to get up. It seemed like hours that I stayed there, waiting. But finally when the time came, I discarded my bed coverings and rose to a stand.

I had kept my robes on, easily concealing them under my blanket, instead of changing into my night clothes, as it was easier than getting redressed before heading out.

I clipped my lightsaber to my belt, although I'm sure I would not need it, it never hurt to have a weapon just in case. Trying to stay light-footed, I made my way out of the room, opening and closing the door as quietly as possible. My heart thundered in my chest, I felt like I would be caught any minute, and that was the last thing I wanted.

The halls of the palace were eerily quiet, but I was glad it was, as it made it easier for me to slip through the building and out into the night air.

The cool air kissed my skin as I made my way back into the centre of the city. The city was a lot different at night. It seemed to come alive, but in a much different kind of way. I could hear bars playing loud music, I saw a few individuals being thrown out of the doors every now and then as I passed.

The streets were lined with people who gave me a bad feeling, I certainly hoped none of them would target me, as that would give me away. People were in fights on the street, and generally a lot of other criminal activity was going on. This was a lot different to how it had seemed during the day.

I remembered the route we had taken to the building fairly well, and I tried to make my way there without gaining the attention of any people I came across. I heard voices as I got closer and closer to the meeting place. I started to have regrets about coming. What about if this was an ambush, if this were all planned so I would be attacked and then there would be one less jedi for them to deal with?

No. I had to stop worrying. If that were the case, he would have just killed me when he had me trapped upstairs. And besides, when I properly concentrated and zoned in on the voices, I knew they were further away than I originally thought, the echoes from the streets had only made them seem closer.

I stopped in front of the building, looking around me to make sure I had not been followed or this was not a set up. I stepped into the darkness of the building.

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Thank you for reading! Sorry it took a while to update! Any feedback is appreciated!


	6. Complications

His eyes were like two beacons in the dark room, they seemed to be the only source of light at that moment. His eyes always seemed so hypnotic, once you looked into them you were ensnared. I hesitated in the door way, a little unsure, in case I was literally walking into a trap.

"You kept me waiting a long while." A monotone voice emerged from within the darkness before me.

"Yes, well. Unlike you, I have people I have had to evade to be here." I said tartly.

"You have no idea." He offered no explanation to what he meant.

I guessed that if he had not attacked me already, he probably wouldn't. I stepped further into the room to face him. The lights came on in that moment, he must have turned them on, illuminating the room and the objects in it. It looked the same as it had earlier when Obi-Wan and myself had discovered the area, albeit a little more desolate as the others were not around.

"I appreciate you not informing your master of my presence earlier today." I looked up at him, he looked exactly the same as he had before, very pale skin and those red eyes. Only now, I could see his dark brown hair, as he was no longer wearing a hooded cloak. I could quickly tell he was human.

"Well, I'm looking for answers from you. I wouldn't let anything get in the way of that, even my duty."

"That's a very unjedi-like way to look at it."

My eyes narrowed at his remark. After a moment I just shrugged. I suppose that quite often my ideas or views could be considered to be against the jedi norm, but as any jedi would, I was working on it. Master Obi-Wan often warned me against the dangerous nature of my thought path, so I knew it was an issue, I didn't need some random telling me the same thing.

"Well, I suppose you would know about that wouldn't you, sith?"

"I suppose I would." A smirk appeared on his face, softening his harsh looks.

"What is your name anyway?"

"What is yours?"

Of course he decided to be difficult, I don't know why some people chose to be like that. It was so infuriating. Such a childish way to react to a question. With a sigh I answered.

"My name is Alpa-Ven. Now, will you tell me yours?" I crossed my arms over my middle, waiting.

"I am known as Darth Malice." Somehow, the name was in my memory. I couldn't think of where from because before the fight in the aircraft hangar, I had never come across him before. Although, the Queen had stated that he was a renowned, powerful sith. So, I must have heard a story or two through my training up to this point, surely?

"What is your _actual_ name?"

"I do not know what you mean."

"The name you were born with? Before you became what you are?"

"Oh, that? We discard or old lives, including our names. My former self is no longer living, and neither is anyone with my birth name." He started pacing as he said this. He had an air of grace around him, like an animal who would never lose footing.

"You sith are odd."

"Just as you jedis are." Was his quick retort.

I sighed and shook my head. Why should I care what a sith thought? Like they had any room to talk, with what they do, think and preach.

"So, what do you have to tell-"

"Did you know that Count Dooku still has your lightsaber in his possession?" He cut across my question with his own.

"Of course I know, that's why I had to make myself a new one. That's why I didn't have one when we first met, we were on our way to get it when we ran into some trouble."

"Do you not want it back?" He looked at me questioningly.

"I did until I had to make a new one."

"What if I could get it back for you?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Why would you want to? Surely a jedi's lightsaber would prove beneficial for you to have in your own possession?"

I watched as he shrugged, seeming nonchalant about the whole situation. As if offering to retrieve a lighsaber for your enemy was normal, and that he would not get into trouble for doing so. I didn't understand him, and I was sure there would be no way to understand him.

"I'm not really interested in keeping a jedi's lightsaber, and you looked pretty defenceless without it."

"I'll have you know; I was not defenceless. I assume you have other powers from the force? Well, I have those too, you know." I scowled.

"You'll get frown lines if you keep that face. Are you always this serious?" He laughed, mostly to himself and his own remark.

"You have to be, when there are people like you putting multiple galaxies at risk."

"Ah, that's not how we see it."

My eyes automatically rolled in response to his statement, that was such a typical response to make. Of course they see it that way, they thought that it was 'the greater good', no matter what they were doing to the people in these galaxies. I personally think that they are all misguided and a lot of them do not really know what they're fighting for, but I guess I will never really know.

"Let's agree to disagree." I was still standing across from him. His eyes were full of mischief, I could tell he enjoyed making fun of me and trying to get a reaction out of me. One I would not give him. "You told me to come here for answers, I am here for exactly that, so give me the answers I am looking for." I could have been polite and used manners, but the longer I stayed here the more I am at danger.

"You're an insistent little thing aren't you?" Once again with the belittling.

With a sigh he began pacing once more, fiddling with his hands. I stood still all the while, watching, waiting and listening all the while. For all I knew I was being held here until others came to kill me off.

"I will admit," He stopped pacing after a while and looked right at me. "When I entered that hangar, I had every intention of killing you and all of your allies. And believe me, I could have easily."

"I highly doubt that, but go on."

He began running his hands through his hair, as if raking his brains for the right answer.

"Just listen. I was ready to attack any enemy when I entered. But the first thing I saw was a female Pantoran, bearing no family marks upon her skin, on the ground. Her face full of fear as she looked into the eyes of someone attacking her, it was as if she was facing death itself… I just couldn't bring myself to attack." He drew in a deep, shuddering breath and then let it out again. "I just had this overwhelming feeling to protect the female on the floor. Almost like the force was telling me to do so."

I felt like I could not do anything but stare at him, this was not what I was expecting at all. Such an admission was a shock to me.

"When I saw that she had been knocked back by one of my allies, I saw red, quite literally. I stepped in before I realised, and when he started coming for her, to give the final blow… I don't know I was just there and had killed him before I even knew what I was doing." He looked towards his feet. "And of course, as you know, that female Pantoran was you."

"I don't know what to say, I don't understand."

"Neither do I, I don't know why I did it. And today, I was completely prepared to kill whoever came up those stairs. Once again it was you, and once again I found myself unable to do anything against you." He'd looked back up at me and I could tell he was trying to figure things out for himself.

"I must say, when I first saw you, when you saved me. I found something about you very… captivating. I haven't been myself since…"

He seemed a little bit relieved to know that he was not the only one who had a strange feeling about the other.

"We can't leave it like this. We need to figure out this whole thing between us." He seemed like he was in a rush again. "We don't have much time, my forces will be back very soon, reporting for duty. So you must go, but I feel like this is not over."

"But how will we sort this out? It is not likely we will see each other again."

"I will get your lightsaber, and I will find you. No matter what I will find you." He quickly moved to the other side of the room, brushing past me.

He was behind me; I didn't turn to face him. I expected him to continue to talk, but he didn't. Instead, he placed a heavy cloak around my shoulders. It was the same one he had been wearing both times I had seen him. Why was he giving it to me?

He used the tie around the collar to secure it around my shoulders. When it was in place he tucked some of my hair behind my ear, taking the opportunity to stroke my cheek.

"You must wear this, it's far too cold outside for you to be walking around without one at this time of night. And besides, it gives me another reason to find you, so I can retrieve this."

Before I could reply, he pulled the hood up, put his hands on my shoulders and turned me the other way, facing the still open door. He leaned down, so his mouth was beside my ear.

"Go home, my little storm cloud." He pulled away and nudged me with a hand to my back. When I turned back to look inside the building, he was gone.

With nothing else for me to do, I made my way back towards the palace. To slip back into place like I had never left. I weaved throughout the dark alleys, the cloak helping to conceal my identity. That had been more of an issue when I had made my way down. As many would stop and watch the lone female making her way through the area in the dead of night. Either they would be thinking of how much of an easy target I made for them to prey upon, or they would marvel at how brave I was and then that would possibly lead them to think I was dangerous. The cloak minimised this issue for me. It blended in perfectly with the shadows, I understand why he must wear it most of the time, to appear to be nothing but a shadow in the night.

The cloak bore the faint smell of oro wood, the native tree to Alderaan. He must have stayed here for quite a while. Or maybe he had purchased one of the many scents you see sold at a number of market stands, which more and more people seem to be buying nowadays. I recognised the smell well, although I had never been to Alderaan before this expedition, we had to train with weapons made with wood from the oro tree during training as a youngling, to make sure we were diverse in weapon skills.

I always found the smell of oro wood, or any wood in general, quite earthy and comforting, I don't really know why, but I suppose that didn't matter. I was surprised that his cloak seemed to smell quite pleasant, not at all what I had expected from a dangerous sith.

I was back at the palace in no time, I slipped through the main doors as quietly as I could. I turned from shutting the door and came face to face with my master, who had been walking along the halls.

"Alpa." His voice was quiet, but stern nonetheless.

"Master…"

"Where have you been?"

"Well…" I had to think now, and think quickly, I could not let slip what had happened. "When we were in the city earlier today I noticed a nice market stall selling these wonderful cloaks." I indicated to the one I was wearing. "And I could not sleep, so I decided to venture into the city again and buy one, luckily they were still open."

"Alpa… You could have put yourself at unnecessary risk. I hope you know that." He sounded as if he believed what I said, and he sounded disappointed.

"I know Master, but I have never been to Alderaan before and I have never seen somewhere that sells these cloaks before. I didn't want to miss this chance." I bowed my head. "I will never do it again, Master."

"Just don't do it again. Now go to bed."

I nodded, still with my head bowed and passed Obi-Wan, making my way towards the dormitories we were given.

"Alpa?" I turned to face him. "You could have got a smaller size, that one is a little big on you."

I only noticed it because he said it, the bottom of the cloak dragged against the floor a little as I walked. Due to the fact the actual owner was quite a bit taller than myself.

"They said one size fits all." I smiled, Obi-Wan laughed quietly.

I turned and made my way towards bed. When I was safely in the confines of my room, I breathed a sigh of relief. That was close.

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Thank you for reading everyone, and I appreciate any feedback or suggestions anyone would like to give!


	7. Journey Back

That whole night, while in bed, the meeting went around and around my head. I was trying to make sense of it, it didn't seem to make any sense. Did he have feelings for me? Is that why he protected me? Why he insists on getting my lightsaber back for me? A lightsaber I have already replaced.

But he wouldn't tell me his name, so what did he want from me?

I couldn't sleep the whole night, I lay awake, tossing and turning, just agonising about the incident. I was glad there was no mission for the next day, we would just be travelling back to The Jedi Temple. A few groups had been chosen to stay back, to monitor the activity in the city throughout the day and the night, because we had not found the sith the day before. But Obi Wan and myself had been called back to the temple. I suppose they either wanted to further my training with classes at the temple or wanted us to go out on a separate mission.

I watched as the sun rose up in the sky, illuminating the beautiful view from the window, which was mostly of the palace grounds. Nobody in the room I was in had woken up yet, it was peaceful here, it seemed like such a nice place to live. It was a shame the city was now plagued by the separatists and the people carrying out their dirty work.

It was odd to think of him as that, as a separatist, even as a sith really. Darth Malice just did not seem like the type, he had the stereotypical 'sith eyes' yes, but he had never done anything particularly wrong to me. If anything he had been nothing but good to me. It just didn't make sense. How could someone so callous and dark, being a sith, save someone, offer to retrieve their weapon, **AND** give them his cloak just because it was cold outside, even when this person was their natural enemy.

It made no sense, like the two things were complete opposites, so how they could possibly coexist within one being? The thoughts swum around my head, until I felt like my brain physically hurt from all the thinking, reasoning and agonising. Slowly turning away from the sun in the window I tried to rid the thoughts from my mind.

At breakfast we all convened around the grand tables in one of the eating halls of the palace, each padawan was situated next to their master. The Queen and her consort were stationed at the top of the table.

The atmosphere seemed very tense, as most of the younger jedis had never had to entertain or have a conversation with a person of royalty, so most of us did not know how to behave or which manner to speak in. The jedi masters seemed to have no issue with this, I supposed they were used to making negotiations with monarchs and royalty of many different nations, it was just part of the job.

Many looks were passed between the padawans, myself included. Looks which conveyed exactly what I thought, the awkwardness and cluelessness of the whole situation. But it was okay, for the most part the youngers did not speak, we ate our food quietly. When spoken to we answered in the polite way we were always taught, which probably just came off as normal to the people of high status, whom we shared the table with.

The food displayed upon the table was delicious, I had never tasted anything like it. You could tell these people lived luxurious lives. It was very lavish and was displayed beautifully, it almost seemed like a work of art, it seemed such a shame to eat it.

The table was quickly cleared by servants, after we had all finished eating. The monarchs had retired from the table and it was our turn to make our leave. We were quickly ushered away by our masters, we remained quiet for the most part and only received instructions from them. Those of us who were leaving Alderaan today were instructed to collect our things and meet the masters in the foyer. We did exactly that. I made sure to take extra care when I picked up the cloak. I folded my cloak very precisely and neatly, I slipped my lightsaber between the folds of cloth.

When I joined Obi-Wan at the entrance of the great palace, I noticed that his eyes lay upon the cloak for a moment. I decided to think nothing of it. I believe that I had gotten away with where I had claimed to have got it from last night. I had no reason to think that he thought otherwise.

I dismissed the thought and followed him out of the grand palace doors and out to the aircraft, the same one which had brought us, it had been brought back to take us back to the jedi temple.

Inside everyone seemed to split off and go into their own directions. I went and stood over by a window. It was small but it allowed me to look out and see the floor disappear beneath us as we ascended into the sky.

My mind mulled over all the things that had happened on this trip. This was not a normal trip, none of the things should have happened if it were. I don't know if this was the force trying to tell me something or not? I had to see how it went.

I lay the cloak out on the ledge in front of me, below the window. I strapped my lightsaber back into my belt. I smoothed my hands over the soft material and felt a little bump. How had I not noticed that before?

I dug into the inside pocket of the cloak and found an envelope, with something solid inside. I felt the internal struggle between my curiosity to see what was inside, and my natural politeness telling me to leave it alone as it was not mine. My curiosity won.

Inside there was a small piece of paper, which I quickly unfolded and read.

 _'Remember, I will come and find you."_

That was it. It must have been intended for me. He must have known what he was going to do and what he was going to say. I found that kind of sweet.

I dug into the envelope again and found a stone. A bright red stone. I couldn't tell what it was, I would have to look at it, surely it had to have a meaning. One I could not decipher at the moment. I put everything back into the envelope, and stowed it back into the pocket in which I had found it, with a smile.

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Sorry it's a short one, I've been very busy recently. Thank you for reading!


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